US President Donald Trump delivered an unusual address to the nation last night. In it, he boasted about his accomplishments and blamed his Democratic predecessor for rising consumer prices. The speech came as his party prepares for next year's midterm elections, Reuters reported.
"11 months ago I inherited a mess and now I'm fixing it," the US leader said in his opening remarks.
The Republican president, who often complains that he is not appreciated enough for his achievements, praised his administration's work over the past year on a range of issues, ranging from reducing illegal border crossings to lowering the prices of some goods.
The address also gave the president an opportunity to address the problem of the cost of living, which Republican Trump often dismisses as a Democratic invention. On this point, he again blamed his predecessor Joe Biden, but in effect acknowledged that prices remain high.
"I will bring those prices down and I will do it very quickly," Trump said. He promised Americans "an economic boom the world has never seen" and announced that every American service member would receive a one-time check for $1,776 before Christmas - 1776 being the year the Declaration of Independence was signed, an event that marks the 250th anniversary of next year, Agence France-Presse notes.
In November next year, the Republican Party will face elections in which it will fight to retain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Democrats will try to thwart them, with their strategy being to attack their opponents over the rising cost of living and health care, which they say has become more unaffordable under Republican rule.
In last year's election, high inflation during Biden's four years in the White House helped Trump defeat his Democratic rival Kamala Harris. But the Republican's tariff policies have created uncertainty and raised prices in an economy his administration has run for nearly a year – and now Trump, like Biden before him, is struggling to convince Americans that the economy is in good shape.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday found that just 33% of American adults approve of the Republican's approach to the economy.
Trump delivered his prime-time speech last night from the State of the Union Room at the White House, not the Oval Office, where presidential addresses are usually delivered.
Before his speech, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York argued that the Republican had failed to deliver on his campaign promises.
"He promised to lower prices on his first day (as president). That was his biggest promise. That was the biggest reason he won the election. "And instead, prices keep going up," Schumer said at a Capitol press conference.